Reince Priebus: Gary Johnson A 'Non-Factor'

10.6% Ohio, 7% New Mexico, 7% Montana, 5% Colorado, 4% Virgina, 3% Nevada and 4% - 6% nationally.

These represent the most recent poll numbers for Gary Johnson.

Gary Johnson a non-factor, I think not. Someone needs to tell Reince, denial is not just a river in Egypt.

The fact is, the GOP is doing their damnedest to marginalize Gary Johnson. If not, why did they keep him out of the debates and why did they put so much effort into unsuccessfully keeping him off the ballot in 5 states? Granted he will only be on the ballot in Michigan as a write-in but in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and Iowa, the GOP lost their challenges and Governor Johnson achieved ballot status.

It's clear that the GOP is concerned about the "Johnson factor". His fiscally conservative message and record as a two-term Governor has them worried. Even a 2% finish for Gary Johnson represents 2.5 million votes and given that he hurts Romney the most among Independents, who are grossly under sampled in most polls, this has to be cause for concern with the GOP.

The takeaway here is don't believe the spin from the RNC Chairman. Gary Johnson will be a factor in the election, much to the chagrin of the GOP.

UPDATED 9/4 Who's Afraid Of Gary Johnson? Mittens And The GOP Part VI (Virginia)

EDITOR'S NOTE 9/4 - The Virginia State Board of Elections has rejected the GOP challenge and said that the Johnson campaign has met the standard of achieving 10,000 valid signatures, including at least 400 from each of the Commonwealth's 11 congressional districts and is qualified to be on the ballot.

The GOP could pursue this further in court but as of now Gary Johnson will be on the ballot in the Old Dominion.

Yup, the GOP is crying foul again, this time in Virginia.

Fortunately for the Johnson campaign, like Iowa now, their beef is with the Commonwealth if they wish to pursue legal action.

Stay tuned to the Gary Johnson Grassroots Blog for updates on whether the GOP decides to continue their frivolous "serial challenges" and add the Old Dominion to the list.

Ballot Access News

On August 22, the Virginia State Board of Elections notified the Libertarian Party of Virginia in an e-mail that the party has enough valid signatures, statewide and in each district. Furthermore, two days later, the Libertarians turned in even more signatures.

However, on August 31, an attorney representing the Republican Party of Virginia notified the Board that the party believes the vast majority of the Libertarian petition signatures are invalid. Virginia has no procedure for any outside group to challenge a finding of elections officials that a petition is sufficient. If the Virginia Republican Party wishes to dispute the finding of the Board, it must sue the Board. The Libertarians had turned in approximately 16,000 signatures. The law requires 10,000, with 400 in each U.S. House district.